Deliver Us From Evil
by Mira Spiegel
Summary: Continuation of Ep. 4. Ryan asks an old friend who has some surprising ties to Father Jack to help with the resistance. She agrees to come out of hiding but at a great cost. However, she's not the only one that is required to make sacrifices.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **My hubby and I started watching V and both were just hooked. When they made the announcement that the series would be continued in March, he said he didn't think he could wait that long. He doesn't ask for much and considering what he's been through this past year (you can read my profile page if you're curious), I thought he deserved a continuation. So, here it is!

I do not own V and I am not making any money off of it. This is purely for enjoyment!

**V: Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter One**

He never reacted well to anesthesia. That was how he knew he was still alive. He had always been taught Heaven would bring comfort, peace and joy. However, what he was experiencing was too vivid and memories that he tried to bury were coming back in disturbing clarity. Strong emotions of confusion and shame washed over him once more and the only thing he was completely aware of was the inability to stop the rush of memories.

Father Jack Landry found himself back in the sun scorched land of Iraq. He was with a small group of soldiers that offered protection as he and one of the combat medics walked through one of the small towns in the middle Eastern country. Every day they had off for rest they would go to the local village and offer free medical service and spiritual advice for those who wanted it. He was always surprised at the turnout that would keep them busy until the sun went down.

It wasn't out of the ordinary for the beggars to come to them, dirty hands outstretched. Lily, the medic, would always give a few of them some money despite everyone's warnings. But this day, something different happened. When Lily went to hand a couple coins to an elderly lady, the woman grabbed Lily's wrist and spoke in Arabic.

"She wants to read your palm," one of the soldiers translated.

Lily was open-minded, something that Jack appreciated being one of the only religious men in the middle of marines and army soldiers. He wasn't surprised when she held out her palm. The old woman stared down into it and then quickly flung Lily's hand away from her. She pointed at her, yelling in her native tongue before quickly hurrying down the street. Their interpreter laughed and shook his head.

"She said you're not of this world."

Lily, and the rest of them, had shrugged it off. Now, since the warehouse, it didn't seem such a laughing matter. In fact, most of the memories that surrounded Lily were far from a laughing matter. He knew the worst ones were still to come and tried to brace himself for them.

"Jack."

A woman's voice was calling to him but he didn't recognize it. He tried to gather enough air in his lungs to push words out of his mouth but the pain in his side prevented that.

"It's alright, Jack."

He was dimly aware of someone putting a hand on his shoulder. He tried to open his eyes and on the fourth attempt, he was successful. Concerned blue eyes framed by blond hair were staring down at him. Erica. It touched him on a deep level that she would be here for him. He knew she was having problems with her son. Now that his eyes were working, maybe his mouth would too. "Where-"

Her eyes flicked off to the side. "You're at Mercy Hospital. Ryan's called someone he trusts to come in and look at your wound."

The painkillers were slowing his thoughts but he managed a wry grin. "Don't trust anyone, huh?"

She returned the smile. "Right."

He shifted slightly. "How bad..."

Erica frowned. "It's...pretty bad. That's one of the reason's Ryan went for someone."

He was about to ask again the extent of the damage when he felt Erica press something into his hand. It was cool, familiar but he couldn't raise his hand to see what it was so he looked back at Erica. She had tears glossing over her eyes.

"Father Travis brought these for you."

His rosary. It must be worse than he thought. He ran the smooth beads through his fingers and closed his eyes.

"Jack?"

"Just resting."

He heard her take a seat next to the bed as he continued to run through the rosary. Even though Lily was what he would consider the center of his crisis of faith a few years ago, he was saddened that he wouldn't get a chance to make things right with her. All he could do was what he had done and that was pray for forgiveness.

_O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offending Thee..._

* * *

Ryan never understood the lure of coffee. It never appealed to him as drink and with Valerie's heart condition, she couldn't drink it either. But Lily Heitz, that was all she lived on. It didn't surprise him when he finally made contact with her in a country town in Pennsylvania, that she agreed to meet him at a coffeehouse. The smell was starting to make his nose itch when he finally laid his eyes on her.

"Lily."

Her amber eyes looked up at him from over the rim of a coffee cup. "Ryan."

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. He forgot how much she resembled Anna. The only differences were Lily's hair had grown long and was a mass of curls and her face held a hundred times more warmth than Anna's ever could. "I don't have a lot of time."

"Good," she set the mug down and grabbed a small bag near her feet. "I don't either. I only showed up to tell you I can't help. I have something more important that I need to do."

"It needs to wait. One of the humans that has been helping the Column was stabbed. I don't trust the doctors and he's dying. Can you help him?"

Lily took a deep breath. "Anna took Grace last night. She went to Maggie's house, posing as me and just walked out with her."

Ryan's heart sank. Grace was the first successfully born child that was half V and half human. Grace gave him hope that Valerie would have a safe, normal delivery. Grace was also the Fifth Column's ace in the hole, the possible weapon that they could use to fight Anna: physical proof that humans and V's can peacefully coexist. Honestly, he didn't know which one was more important, Landry or Grace.

"Please, Ryan?"

"I'll see what I can do so let's compromise." He passed her a slip of paper. "Here's the name and address of the hospital as well as the room number. You do what you can for my friend and I'll start looking into what I can do for Grace. But listen to me," he fixed her with a steady stare. "Don't try anything while you're in New York. We'll handle this together."

Lily reluctantly nodded before standing up from the table and quickly leaving the restaurant. Ryan doubted whether this was a good idea or not. He was sending one of the best V doctors to help Landry but he was also sending her straight to where Anna was. He only hoped she didn't do anything rash but he would also understand if she took matters into her own hands. First, he would go talk to Maggie since he was here. Maybe Anna said or did something that could put him on the right track of where Grace might be stashed and for what reason.

* * *

Erica wasn't used to feeling this helpless. She had left five messages on Tyler's cell phone, all in varying states of worry, panic and finally placation. He hadn't called back yet. She didn't know if she should go up to the mothership herself or if that would be too dangerous. She wasn't sure how much the V's had on her and the resistance that was starting to form.

But she couldn't leave Jack unattended. Ryan was afraid to even allow the doctor's to hook up IV's to the Priest and promised to send someone to treat Jack. She hoped whoever it was would get here soon. It seemed with each passing hour, Jack became more and more pale. The IV bags had been changed twice and they were talking of taking him back into surgery tomorrow morning if the internal bleeding continued. In the meantime, all she could do was wait and watch as he sporadically moved the rosary beads between his shaking fingers.

The door to the room opened and shut quickly. The lock snapped into place before Erica could even get to her feet. A young woman with long dark hair was digging through a messenger's bag.

"Excuse me?"

She looked up at Erica with startling amber eyes. "Are you Agent Evans?"

"Yes."

She nodded once. "Ryan sent me. I'm Lily Heitz." She moved towards the bed and once she saw Jack, the messenger bag dropped to the floor and all her quick movements stilled in shock. "Jack."

"You know him? How?"

Lily tore her eyes away from Jack and looked at Erica as if she was seeing her for the first time. She blinked a couple times and returned to her regular pace of movement. She dropped a couple odd looking instruments onto the bed and reached for the clipboard at the foot of the bed. "What are the doctor's saying?"

"They said that it look like whatever he was stabbed with tore through parts of his large and small intestine, as well as his stomach. They've tried to stitch up those organs twice now but for some reason-"

"The stitches keep disintegrating."

"Right."

Lily dropped the clipboard back onto the bed and went over to the IV's. She quickly looked over the fluid bag, morphine drip and blood bag and then disconnected all three. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a small clear container that had a bag of blood in it. She hooked it up to one IV and removed the other two from Jack's hand. He groaned a little but didn't wake up. She reached for one of the instruments she laid on the bed and flipped it open. It looked like a hand held scanner she had seen on the TV when the reporter did his show on the healing centers. Erica watched in fascination as Lily waved the scanner over the incision on Jack's abdomen and it slowly started to fade from angry red to light pink.

"It looks like an assassin's shiv that did the damage," Lily was saying. "They're nasty pieces of work. The metal that they use actually leaves behind tiny pieces in the blood stream that don't allow soft tissue to heal. It's like the equivalent of your E-boli virus."

"Is he going to be okay?"

Lily looked at the bag of blood. It was already half way empty. "I hope so."

"How do you know his blood type?"

"I was the combat medic for his unit in Iraq. I knew everyone's blood type."

"Iraq?" There was still so much she didn't know about the Priest.

"He served two tours as an Army Chaplain." Lily started packing her instruments back in the messenger bag. "Ryan says you're FBI."

"Yeah. Are you a V too?"

Lily nodded and glanced over at Jack, a slow smile made it's way across her face. "Hey you."

Erica was relieved to see a slight tinge of color had come back to his face and his eyes were open. His brow was furrowed. "Lily?"

"You remember me. I'm flattered."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Erica and Lily both moved forward and laid reassuring hands on him. Erica figured it best to let Lily comfort him since she didn't know why Lily's appearance upset him.

"Don't worry about it, Padre. Water under the bridge, remember?"

Color was draining from his face again. "Wa...water under...the..."

"That's right," Lily soothed. "No worries, Padre. Just relax."

When Jack seemed settled and breathing evenly, Lily gave his shoulder a little shake. "Padre? Can you hear me?"

"Lily?" he whispered.

"Yes, that's right. I need you to listen to me. I'm going to have to move you."

"Can't move."

"Not right now, no, but I'm going to give you something that's going to help with moving, alright?"

He nodded tiredly. Lily disconnected the empty blood bag and dropped it back into the messenger bag. She pulled out a small silver case and when she opened it, revealed a thin syringe.

"What's that?" Erica asked.

"It's something the V's have developed. It's like an adrenaline shot. It'll give him a boost of energy and mental clarity that will only last for an hour. But before I give it him, we need a safe place to take him."

"I live forty-five minutes away. He can stay there." Lily was still looking at her. "You can too."

Lily gave her a slight smile and then injected the fluid into Jack's arm. The reaction was almost immediate. His blue eyes snapped open and he sat up straight in the bed.

Erica started pulling out the clothes that they had brought him there in and shoved them into his hands. "We have to get you out of here, Jack. Get dressed, quickly."

He looked glassy eyed and wild, his gaze shifting from Erica to Lily.

"Lil-"

"Move it, Padre," Lily snapped and pulled the curtain closed.

Erica could hear him pulling his street clothes on and wished for once he had his clerical clothes. They could pass him off as making rounds. "How are we going to get him out?"

Lily shrugged. "Walk out like we were all visiting someone. He'll be clear headed enough."

The curtain pulled back and Erica was amazed at how normal Jack looked. It was hard to believe he was dying just ten minutes ago.

"We have to move," Lily said as she unlocked the door. "He's going to collapse in fifty minutes."

Erica didn't think it was going to be as simple as walking out of the hospital and she was partially right. Lily took them by back stairwells and employee only elevators. The outside air never smelled sweeter to Erica then when all three of them stepped out onto the busy street. But that quickly changed when she caught sight of the alien ship hovering menacingly over the skyscrapers. Apparently, Lily felt the same way.

"I'll help you get Jack settled," Lily said, "but then I have to come back to the city. I have some unfinished business."

"Me too."

Lily gave her a shrewd look. "Where's your car? We have to keep moving."

Erica moved down the street to the parking garage at the end of the block. The mother inside of her was screaming for her to not leave the city until she had Tyler down from the ship but the FBI agent wanted to get Jack to safety. Lily said she had to come back, perhaps that was Erica's ticket up to the ship to see Tyler.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews so far! I'm glad you seem to be enjoying and I hope that I continue to please!

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Two**

Ryan had met Maggie twice. Once had been for the human celebration of Christmas. It was after the first resistance had failed and before he had met Valerie. He was feeling alone, scared and not knowing who to trust. Lily had come knocking on his door, demanding his presence at this holiday function and he reluctantly went. Maggie gave him a sweater and Lily gave him hope. He still had the sweater and was barely hanging onto to hope.

Maggie lived in a ranch house in the same small town as Lily. She was one of the few humans that knew of the V's but was too old to help in the physical fight. But she had been indispensable when it came to caring for Lily's daughter, Grace. He never did find out who Grace's father was but he and Lily were never that close. They trusted each other, were friends but not confidantes. Maggie, however, was a different case. He was certain she knew more about the situation than he did. Whether or not she would tell him was an other matter.

The door opened and a puffy eyed Maggie stood in front of him and very quickly started to cry again. "It's all my fault, Ryan. I never should have let Grace leave."

Ryan gave the older woman a hug. "It's alright, Maggie. You didn't know."

Maggie shut the door and wiped her eyes. "I though Lily had cut her hair and was just having a bad day. It never crossed my mind that it could be Anna."

Ryan had a list of questions to ask her but wanted to tread carefully. It was more than obvious that Maggie was blaming herself and he didn't want to add to that guilt. He went into the kitchen and turned the burner on under the teapot. Both Maggie and Lily always made tea when someone was upset. He hoped it would work for him.

"Do you have a recent picture of Grace?"

Maggie pointed to the refrigerator. "It was taken just last week."

Ryan pulled the photo out from underneath the magnet. The three-year-old had all of her mother's warmth but lacked her dark hair and eyes. She inherited her mother's curls but her hair was a mix of light brown and blond. Her eyes were a clear blue and her smile looked vaguely familiar. "Can I take this, Maggie?"

"Sure. I have more in the other room."

After the tea was poured and both of them were sitting at the kitchen table, Maggie started to talk. "I look back on the other day and see all the warning signs. Anna knocked on the door and waited for me to answer. Lily always knocked and came in. She turned down a cup of tea and just gathered up Grace, saying she had a busy day and just wanted to go home. She didn't even look at Grace's drawings." Maggie stared down into her cup. "Why did I let her leave like that?"

"Hindsight is always 20/20." Ryan wished Valerie was with him. She would know what to say to Maggie more than he did. "Did Anna say anything else?"

"No," Maggie shook her head. "She just smiled as she left."

"Did she have a car?"

"Not that I saw. Lily always walks over here."

"Do you know how they found out about Grace? How they tracked her here?"

Maggie looked up at him forlornly. "I have thought about that constantly. I have no idea how they could have found Grace this quickly. Lily is the most careful person I know. She hasn't befriended anyone here, just me. The only people she communicates with are you and other members of that secret organization." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Grace doesn't even have a birth certificate."

Ryan tucked some of the information away. It was good to know that Lily still had Fifth Column connections. "What about Grace's father? Does he know that she was living here?"

Maggie's sadness lifted slightly into unease. "Lily doesn't like talking about Grace's father. I think she's protecting him."

"From what?"

She sighed. "The truth."

"That Grace is half alien."

"That he fathered a child."

"He didn't want children?"

Maggie bit her lip. "You really should talk to Lily. I don't know how much she wants said. If Grace's father ever found out about her, it would turn his world upside down. Lily didn't want to do that to him. She has too much respect for him."

"Is she still in contact with him?"

"No. She cut ties completely when she found out she was pregnant."

He thought what it would be like if Valerie just up and left from his life, pregnant or not. "And he just let her go?"

"No," a ghost of a smile flitted across her face, "he wrote letters. Beautiful letters. Lily saved them all but I don't know where she hid them."

Ryan wasn't sure if finding Grace's father would help with locating the girl. He would call Lily tonight and find out if the man was worth pursuing. He pulled out one of Valerie's business cards and wrote his cell phone number on the back. "Call me if you think of anything else or if Anna comes back for any reason."

"Do you think she'll come back?"

Ryan tried not to hear the fear in her voice. "Probably not, but if she does come back, do whatever she asks."

Maggie started to get teary eyed again. "You can't come back here then and don't tell me where you are going to be. That way, if she comes back looking for you, I can't tell her."

Ryan understood why Lily liked this woman so much and trusted her implicitly with Grace. "I'm sure Lily will touch base with you every once in awhile."

"Be safe, Ryan. Keep her safe, too. You don't know what a mother of a missing child is capable of doing."

That was the problem, he knew exactly what Lily was capable of doing. He had seen her first hand heal the wounded while still covered in the blood that she had spilled. She waged mental war like a master and could manipulate just as well as Anna. The only difference between Anna and Lily was Lily only acted violently when her loved ones were threatened and the human race fell into that category.

He allowed Maggie to hug him one more time before leaving the house and walking down the two blocks to Lily's. He may as well check out her place before heading back to New York. He had to admit, those love letters had him intrigued now.

* * *

Lily was grateful the shot she gave Jack lasted slightly longer than the full sixty minutes. Traffic was dense as they were leaving the city but he managed to stumble across the threshold of Eric's home before they had to catch him before he hit the floor. It took both of them to carry him upstairs to the spare bedroom and get him propped up in the double bed. His color had drained again and his breathing was off rhythm.

"What's wrong?" Erica asked.

"After effects of the drug. He's going to look and act worse before it finally leaves his system but it won't cause any damage." Lily pulled out her syringe box that had all the basic fluids that dehydrated humans needed. It worked faster than an IV and cut down on all the tubes. It had been indispensable in Iraq.

"What's that?"

Lily smiled slightly as she injected the fluids into Jack's arm. "I'm beginning to get the idea that you don't trust me very much, Agent Evans."

"I don't trust anyone."

Lily's smile faded. "That's good." She held up the empty needle. "That was fluids and nutrients. It will flush the drugs out of his system faster."

"How soon will he be able to move on his own?"

"I'll have him up on his feet tonight." She hoped that would be the case. Jack would definitely be healed enough to stand on his own power but Lily hoped to be out of the house by then. Ryan hadn't called her yet and the desire to go back into the city was becoming overwhelming. But she couldn't leave an unconscious man here by himself. She could wait a couple hours but not much longer than that. If they tracked Grace this quickly...

"Erica, do you have any other place to stay besides here?"

"Why?"

"Anna's had her visa for less than three days and already she's found and taken my daughter. The only reason they haven't come to your house yet is because you're not a big enough threat yet. But they will be here and fast. We can't stay here for much longer."

Lily watched the other woman debate back and forth but finally she sighed wearily. "My father had a summer home he left to me after he died. I haven't been up there in years but I couldn't sell it either."

"Who else knows about this house?"

"Just my son, Tyler."

"And where's he?"

Erica scrubbed her hand across her face. "On the mothership."

Lily had to turn away from Erica so she wouldn't see the concern on her face. So that was her unfinished business in the city. "My daughter is on the mothership as well."

"But your daughter is a V."

"Half V. She has a human father. That's why Anna wanted her. She's...special."

"Does her father know?"

Lily feigned ignorance. "Know what? She's a V or she's missing?"

"Either."

Lily looked back at Jack, whose breathing had steadied and was sleeping soundly. She busied herself with checking his pulse so Erica couldn't see her hands shaking. "He doesn't have a clue. Where is this house?"

There was a pause before Erica answered, most likely due to the sudden shift in conversation. "It's on a private stretch of beach in the Hamptons."

"The Hamptons?"

"My father was an artist. He spent a lot of time up there."

Lily released Jack's wrist, unaware she was still holding onto him. "At least we can hide out in style."

* * *

Chad Decker had finished another one sided interview with Anna aboard the New York mothership and just wanted to go home. What he thought was going to be the biggest break of his career had turned out to be nothing more than a political game. The only thing that made this different was instead of being on a state or national level, the games she was playing were not even global but galactic. He was suppose to be the one that was asking the hard questions, but was being told what to ask, when to ask it and how to ask it. It was starting to grate on his nerves so much he wondered if it was upping the time table on the predicted brain aneurysm.

"Mr. Decker."

Chad plastered a smile on his face. "Marcus."

"I was wondering if you had time to think about our offer of healing. Time is not on your side and Anna would be most upset to lose you as her spokesman."

"I'm sure." Finding willing pawns in the media was not an easy feat. She just happened to luck out on the first try with him. He shrugged into his jacket and tucked his journal into the pocket. "I still haven't reached a decision but as soon as I do, you'll be the first to know."

"Just keep in mind that even we can't work miracles. Once the damage to the artery reaches a certain point, there will be nothing we can do to help you."

Chad wondered how much the usually close-lipped Marcus would talk about the medical conditions they couldn't help heal. "What point would that be?"

"Our doctors tell me that if the artery becomes too compromised, it will be too weak to repair."

"What are some of your medical conditions that you haven't found a cure for yet?"

Marcus gave him a curious look. "Our medical conditions are different from yours so the answer to your question would be unintelligible."

This was where most of his conversations with Marcus lead...polite brush offs. Chad followed him out of the sick bay of the ship where he had reported from the medical bay on the mothership to show just how similar it was to the healing centers. Anna wanted the public to see that they weren't holding any medicine or treatment back from their human friends. As Chad walked past one of the rooms, he glanced in and stopped dead.

There was a full sized medical bed that was found in all the healing centers but this one had a small child laying on it. She looked like a life sized doll with blond curls and a perfect face. There were a few medical staff moving very carefully around her sleeping form with scanners and computerized clipboards. A strange thought struck Chad at that moment. "Marcus, why are there no children on board the motherships?"

"Our children, though highly prized in our society, are very weak when they are young. We had to travel from a great distance to reach your planet. The strain of the voyage would have been too great on them and their development."

"What about her?" He could feel Marcus staring hard at him but Chad kept his eyes fixed on the little girl in the room.

"She is a human child who was very sick. We couldn't help her in our healing centers so we transferred her up here. We believe she has what you call meningitis. Our staff is trying to find a cure before it is too late for her."

"A cure for meningitis would be a huge break through."

"Yes, I know."

"Would it be possible to do a story about this? Where are her parents?"

Marcus gave him another guarded look that bordered on a warning that Chad was overstepping his boundaries. "I am afraid that she doesn't have any parents. She was found in one of your hospitals and reported to us by a nurse. If she survives, then you will be allowed to do a story on her. I do not believe Anna would appreciate a public humiliation if the child were to die under our care."

"No," Chad clenched his jaw. "I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate that. What is her name?"

"Grace." Marcus released a quiet sigh. "And now Mr. Decker, I am afraid it is getting late and I am sure you want to rest. Besides, there should be other concerns that are weighing heavily on your mind right now."

Chad reluctantly left the window and followed Marcus to the shuttle launch. He knew there was more to this than what Marcus was telling him. Finally, he could be the investigative reporter he was supposed to be.

* * *

"He noticed Grace, just as you said he would."

Anna smiled. "Good. I knew he would. Did he ask questions about her?"

"Yes." Marcus frowned. "I told him she was a human orphan suffering from meningitis but I fail to see your reasoning behind this."

Anna's smile vanished. "I want the humans to see that we grieve over the loss of children. We have already shown them with Mary Faulkner that we grieve the loss of mates and military soldiers. Once our medical staff has gathered enough information from Grace and her genetic makeup, we will go public with the story of a little orphan we tried to unselfishly save but was too far gone by the time we reached her.

"I want to hold a public funeral, have the child buried in the city according to the human's standards of burial. We will provide the coffin and the readying of the body. It will keep the focus off of the warehouse explosion and direct the attention away from the flu vaccines. Having a child that died of meningitis will also boost the number of parents bringing their children in for the vitamin shot to prevent such a tragedy from happening to them."

"And what of Lily?"

Anna's frown deepened. "We'll deal with her when she shows herself and believe me, she will make her presence known. I am more interested in finding out who this child's father is."

"We should have some information on that soon. Some of our security guards are searching through human records for the birth certificate."

"No," Anna shook her head. "Lily is too smart for that. The human's have DNA banks. Have them search those."

"But if the child's genetic make up also includes our genes, there may not be a comparable match."

"Do it anyway. I do not want to be focused on Lily only to have the father of this child blind side us in retaliation. Lily's keeping his identity a secret for a reason. I want to know what makes him special. Both of them need to be dealt with and quickly."

"Yes, ma'am."

Anna's good nature seemed to return slightly and her voice lost some of it's edge. "I hear there's a priest at St. Josephine's that is welcoming to us. I believe his name is Father Travis. I want him to oversee the funeral service."


	3. Chapter 3

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Three**

Jack didn't see Lily until he almost tripped over her. He had woken up from yet another dream that was induced by the painkillers, her lingering scent in the house and memories that he wasn't sure if he should be ashamed of or treasure them. Instead, he got out of bed, grabbed his rosary and headed out to the beach.

He, Erica and Lily had been staying in the Hamptons for two days now. Worry had been etched on both of the women's faces and once again he felt helpless to do any good for either of them. It was Erica that had told him Tyler and Lily's daughter were both on the New York mothership and neither one could be reached. It took him by surprise to hear that Lily had a child. She never spoke of her in Iraq which meant she had her after they had returned. Then Ryan, who stopped in briefly yesterday morning to drop off Georgie, had showed him the picture and everything crashed into place for him with alarming speed. He had wanted to confront Lily with it yesterday but she managed to dance out of his eyesight every time he saw her. Until now.

She had been sitting on the beach, a dark blanket wrapped around her and her black hair making her almost invisible on the sand. The half moon was hidden behind clouds at the moment which cut the light even more. She must have heard him at the last minute and jumped up in surprise. It took him a minute to catch his breath.

"Lily."

She held a small silver box against her stomach. "I'm sorry." Then she noticed who he was and turned to go back into the house.

He started after her but with being startled and the burning sensation he still had from his healing wound, made running after her on the loose sand impossible. He shoved the rosary in his pocket. He would have to play hardball with her. "Lily!"

Her pace faltered slightly.

"Come back." He took another breath, trying to mask the fear that she would keep walking away from him. "We need to talk."

"I have work to do, Padre-"

"Cut the crap and get back here." Stunned silence hung between them. Jack couldn't believe the words that came out of his mouth and apparently, neither could she. Slowly she made her way back to him and returned to her original position sitting on the sand. It was harder for him to sit down on the ground but he managed it.

"I do have work to do," she said quietly.

He was too out of breath to even start a conversation so instead he pointed to the silver box. "What's that?"

She opened it and a dim red 3-D screen hovered over the silver covering. "It's a V computer. I've been trying to contact other Fifth Column operatives."

"Others? How many others?"

She shrugged slightly. "I knew of sixty. I've only heard back from three and one of them was Ryan."

"Are the other two going to help?"

Lily sighed. "I don't know. It's difficult for us. Most of us have been living on Earth for about ten years now and made lives for ourselves. It's hard to walk away from that and expose yourself as being a liar for all those years."

"Is that why you walked away?"

Lily slowly shut the computer with a quiet snap. "When you knocked on my door four years ago, you weren't sure if you wanted to remain a priest. War does that, whether it's with radical Muslims or an alien species from three solar systems away. You were my friend and I wanted you to be happy no matter what your decision ended up being. I foolishly believed you were going to leave the church and never gave thought to the possibility you were going to go back. I'm sorry."

"When did you find out you were pregnant?"

"Four weeks after you went back to St. Josephine's. I had been in a minor car accident and when they finally got a nurse that I trusted and did an ultrasound to check for internal damage, they found her. You have to understand, I knew other female V's that had married human men. Some were lucky enough to conceive but something always went wrong. The child was too weak and died shortly after birth, the mothers miscarried and, in some cases, the mother died from complications. What good would it have done you to throw away your life for something that had a slim chance of happening successfully?"

"But then she was born and she was normal."

Lily smiled. "She was perfect."

"And you still didn't tell me about her."

All joy vanished from her face. "You are a priest. I know you, Jack. I know you would have given up everything for us but..."

"But?"

"I didn't want you to hate me for it in the long run. I didn't want you to look at Grace and think about what she took from you." Lily took a deep breath. "And I'm telling you this as fair warning. After Anna goes home and this war is over, Grace and I will disappear again and you can go back to being a priest without any fear of anyone finding out about Grace."

Before he could respond, Lily was up and heading back into the house. He was too tired to follow her or even call out to her again. She was right, war does change things. Peaceful men take up arms and kill. Concessions are made, moral lines become blurry. Everything that was once black and white suddenly swims together into and becomes gray. But it was certain now. He had a daughter.

He pulled the picture out of his pocket, the rosary coming out too. He held both of them in his hands, feeling completely lost. Perhaps it was time, at least during the resistance, to put away being a man of God and just be a man. Georgie told him he would have to decide between being a priest and being a solider, he just didn't think the decision would come this quickly. He had to be a solider now. He had a family to protect, whether Lily saw them as a family or not. Jack slowly wrapped the rosary around his hand and put it back into his pocket and spent the rest of the night studying the face of his daughter.

* * *

"This is Chad Decker, reporting from the New York mothership's medical bay."

Erica watched the morning news with a frown and a cup of coffee. Lily was upstairs in one of the bedrooms, having shut herself in there all morning. Erica could hear her moving around but that was it. She had heard Jack get up in the middle of the night and went to check on him when she saw him and Lily on the beach. Judging by Lily's seclusion and Jack's pensive silence this morning, it didn't go very well between them last night.

"Damn media," Georgie grumbled. "Didn't take the V's long to win them over."

"I don't know," Erica pointed to the TV. "This Decker does try to be balanced. He did have a debate on a few days ago with a pro-V and an anti-V supporter."

"He should be exposing them."

"There's too smart for that. I'm sure they're limiting his access and -" Erica stopped dead. She could have sworn she saw Tyler walk past in the background behind the reporter. Apparently, Jack saw it too and sat up straighter on the couch.

"Was that-"

"I think so," Erica answered. At least Tyler was safe, for now. But she still had to find a way onto the mothership to try to talk to him. She understood what it was like to have a child missing in a cult. But it never helped to storm the gates of the compound and demand their return. Jack was right, they had to be smart about this.

A door opened upstairs and Lily's footsteps sounded on the stairs. She practically bounded into the kitchen looking ten times more rested than Jack. "I have some great news!"

Georgie muted the news report. "We could use some."

"I just received contact from five other Column members that are willing to meet at an office building in the city tonight. Ryan and I will go in first and once we make sure it's legit, we call you three in as well. The other good news is, I think I may have figured out a way to get Tyler and Grace back."

Jack's interest perked up slightly as did Erica's. "How?"

Lily pointed to the television. "We use the media. We go to the media with our pictures of Tyler and Grace, claiming that they're up on the ships and aren't communicating with us anymore. We're afraid of brainwashing and all we want to know is that they're alright. Tyler is still seventeen, a minor. Anna will know this and not want to be accused of kidnapping. We just give her what she doesn't want...bad press."

Erica nodded. "I like that idea. We play the victim this time."

"Speaking of bad press," Georgie said as he turned the volume back on the TV. Anna was tearfully addressing the cameras.

"It is with great sadness that I address you today."

Lily stepped up to Erica's side. "Oh no."

"We had a child brought to us two days ago," Anna continued. "She was suffering greatly from a virus that you call meningitis. Our healers have worked nonstop on a cure for this deadly illness. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a cure in time."

A low, keening sound came from Lily and Erica had to reach out to hold the other woman steady on her feet. Lily swayed dangerously before collapsing onto a kitchen chair Georgie moved behind her.

"To show how deep our grief is, we will be organizing a public funeral on Friday at ten o'clock in the morning at St. Josephine's Church. Everyone is welcome to join us as we mourn the unfortunate loss of little Grace."

Erica laid a hand on Lily's shoulder and was surprised to feel Lily convulsing. She looked down in alarm to find Georgie had actually tied Lily to the chair and she was trying to get loose. A lethal look was in Lily's eyes and Erica was shocked at the similarities between her and Anna at that point.

"Let me go, Georgie!" she snarled. "Let me go!"

"No."

Lily let out an inhuman roar and sagged against the belt restraint.

"Listen to me," Georgie knelt down in front of Lily, "you leave here now and go into the city half-cocked, you not only ruin your chance of fighting this round, but you risk our lives as well. We need to wait for Ryan and plan our next strike."

Erica's cell phone rang and she quickly flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Did Lily see the news?" Ryan asked.

Erica stepped out of the room. "Yeah, she did."

"Oh no."

"Georgie has her tied to a chair."

"Good. Make sure she stays put. I'm on my way out there now."

"She said that we're suppose to meet some Column members in the city tonight. Perhaps you should stay there and meet with them."

Ryan got quiet for a while. "If they contacted Lily, then it's Lily that needs to meet with them. You've got to get her calmed down enough to do this meeting tonight."

"How am I suppose to do that? She lost her daughter."

"Where's Georgie?"

Erica peeked around the corner. Georgie was still crouched down in front of Lily. "He's in there with her now."

"Good, if anyone can reach her it's him. How's Jack handling this?"

Jack? Why would this affect Jack? "He's fine, I guess. Why?"

"Just," Ryan paused again. "Just keep an eye on him too. Have Lily call me later with the address of the office building."

* * *

It was going to be Joshua's first time off of the mothership and into the city. He had to admit he felt some excitement but the weight of what he was doing took the joy out of the adventure. He had received the call from Lily four days ago but held off responding until the matter was settled with Grace. He had provided all the information he found of the girl's genetic make up to Anna. It really was incredible seeing first hand how human DNA merged seamlessly with their own. It was a miracle in and of itself, one that he wasn't sure he could ever understand or replicate. But that was an issue to be solved at another time.

His time to leave the ship was approaching quickly and he had to act nonchalant about leaving tonight. He walked over to the white coffin that was sitting in the medical bay and opened the lid. The little girl, Grace, looked like she was fast asleep, nothing more. Seeing her only renewed his desire to see Anna defeated in her quest for the human race. Something seemed slightly off about the child though. He studied her and realized her coloring was too healthy for that of a dead child. Subtly, he reached into the coffin, the image of Grace flickering and bending around his arm as he did so, and adjusted the tint on the hologram. When he looked at her again, her skin had the pale, grayish tone of death. That should suffice. Satisfied with how she looked and the amount of weight he laid under the cushions, he sealed the casket.

He went back to his quarters and pulled out one of his medical bags that he carried through medical training. He had already emptied it of all his scanners and equipment. Grace was still sleeping soundly, curled up inside the bag, clutching a synthetic, furry animal that Joshua didn't recognize. He hoped that Lily hadn't seen Anna's announcement today and would still meet him at the office building tonight. He looked forward to finally meeting one of the most skilled healers of his time and finally have physical proof in front of him that he was not alone in this resistance.


	4. Chapter 4

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Four**

Lily tried to curl herself into a smaller ball but her knees were already pressing into her chest. She knew there were more important things to be doing right now but her mind refused to stop the loop of memories of Grace. After Georgie had reluctantly untied her from the chair, she came upstairs to the hallway bathroom and curled up inside the antique claw foot tub. She heard Erica question Jack about the strange location but all Jack said was that Lily did this in Iraq from time to time.

Jack...

So many things she kept from him. She couldn't have told him that sleeping in a bath tub reminded her of sleeping in the beds on the mothership that brought her here. Of course, the walls on the beds had been heated but whenever the heat kicked on in the house, it vibrated the ceramic underneath her and when she closed her eyes she could easily pretend she was safe and sound aboard the ship. No resistance, no war...no tears.

The door opened slowly, hinges creaking and Lily peeked over the side of the tub to see Jack standing there. A mix of grief, confusion and timidity etched on his face. He looked so lost and stab of guilt pierced through her. She told him back in Iraq that he was too good, too kind hearted of a man to be involved in war. That was another reason she left him without a word. She knew what Grace would mean to the resistance when Anna finally came. Despite his stance on violence, he would fight to the death for his daughter and she didn't want him compromising himself in another war. But despite all her effort, there he stood in the blue and white tiled bathroom, looking completely out of his element.

Lily cleared her throat. "What, Jack?"

"I, uh, just thought I would check on you."

"I'm fine." She slid down so her head rested near the drain and Jack dropped out of view. She had forgotten how blue his eyes were. She wanted him to go away but he didn't. She heard him carefully slide down the wall to sit on the floor next to the tub. He didn't say anything for the longest time and the heat finally turned on. Lily closed her eyes at the feeling of temporary contentment and felt sleep start to fall over her wounded heart.

"What was she like?"

"Perfect," she murmured.

"You said that last night. What made her perfect?"

_Because she was so much like you, _she wanted to answer but kept the response to herself. "She was the perfect V/human hybrid. She had the best qualities of both species. The strength of a human and the intelligence of a V." Lily was surprised to find the crushing pressure on her chest had lessened slightly. Perhaps talking about Grace to Jack was helping. She pushed herself up into a sitting position but avoided looking at him. "She made me laugh every day. She was into everything and always wanted to learn something new."

Jack laughed slightly. "Just like her mother. I remember the knitting disaster."

Lily smiled briefly. "Yeah, I forgot about that."

"What else?"

Lily tried to organize her thoughts. Grace had been her life for the last three years. How could she describe the feeling of having Grace laid in her arms minutes after being born? Her first laugh, her first words, her first steps...it was so much to tell. But Jack had a right to know but when she started to talk again, her voice failed her. Before she regained her bearings, Jack had squeezed himself into the tub with her. She was already overwhelmed with grief and now Jack's presence seemed too much. All could do was just let him hold her while she cried. It was the first time in four years that she felt comforted. But it didn't last for long. Lily's cell phone ring echoed off the porcelain, and knocked her back into reality. Pushing herself away from Jack, she pulled her phone out.

"Hello?"

"Lily?"

She didn't recognize the voice. "Yes?"

"Go to the meeting at the office building tonight and take heart. John May lives."

"Who is-" but the connection cut off.

Jack was sitting on the corner of the tub, looking uncomfortable again. "Who was that?"

A sudden weariness settled over her again. "I don't know. He must have been Fifth Column."

Someone knocked on the door and Lily saw Erica poke her head into the room. "We need to leave to get into the city on time."

Lily nodded, slipped her phone back into her jean pocket and stood up.

"Are you going to be alright?" Jack asked.

She made the mistake of looking at him and his eyes. He was so unguarded, open and honest, unlike most of the humans she had contact with through the years. It was why she fell in love with him in the first place. It was why she loved him still. "I'll be fine eventually."

"I would like to know more about Grace."

"Later," Lily answered. "I'll tell you more later."

* * *

"Here they come."

Joshua breathed a sigh of relief. They were suppose to meet at nine but it was nine thirty and no sign of Lily. Finally, Eric had spotted the rag tag group on the sidewalk in front of the building. Eric was one of the Column members that had been aboard the mothership. Joshua would have to leave him with the resistance group on the ground. He would miss the older man but he understood the need to build up their forces on Earth. Julia, one of his med staff, would be staying as well. She was playing with Grace in another room.

The elevator down the hall dinged and Joshua and Eric stepped out into the hallway to greet them. He was surprised when only two people stepped off the elevator. There was a tall, African American man that Joshua assumed was Ryan, one of the heroes from the first resistance. The woman must have been Lily, the grief of a mother who lost her child evident in her eyes. Well, that would soon be lifted.

"Lily Heitz?"

She nodded slightly. "Joshua?"

He couldn't disguise his pleasure at meeting her and a wide smile broke out on his face. "It is such an honor meeting you."

"Really?" she answered blandly.

"Your healing techniques are now being taught at the universities at home and on the ships. I look forward to hearing what you've done on earth with human medicine."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Ryan asked.

Joshua nodded to Eric who went to retrieve Grace. "I have a gift of proof for you." Julia emerged with Eric, Grace holding onto Julia's coat until she saw her mother. Joshua couldn't distinguish between Grace and Lily's yells of surprise. No sooner were the mother and daughter reunited, then three people burst through the stairwell door, guns drawn. Ryan turned and addressed them.

"It's alright. They brought Grace."

Joshua watched in interest as one of the men, slightly taller and thinner than the other human male, push his way past the other two and right up to Lily and Grace. His eyes were the same shade as Grace's and Joshua couldn't help but wonder if this was the human father. However, he was staring at the little girl as if seeing her for the first time. Perhaps Joshua had misinterpreted the look. Human emotion was very difficult to understand.

"Is this all of the resistance?"

"No," the other human male answered but Joshua noted his nostrils were flared, a classic sign of lying.

Ryan sighed slightly. "The ones we know about, yes."

Eric looked over at Joshua. "I expected there to be more."

"There will be," Joshua answered. "This is Eric and Julia. They want to stay on Earth and help you connect with other Column members."

Ryan gave Eric and Julia a quick glance. "That's all fine and good but if they won't respond to Lily or me, why would they come out of the wood work for them?"

"Because we have direct contact numbers for them given to us by John May himself," Eric answered.

Julia continued. "If we contact them on those numbers, they'll know we're trustworthy."

Lily was holding Grace with one arm and wiped the tears from her eyes with her free hand. "Good enough for me. We should be on our way then if that's it, Joshua."

Joshua couldn't have agreed more. The shorter male was looking nervous as was the blond woman who stood in the back with him. "Are you Erica?"

She looked at him shrewdly. "Why?"

"It's just that I..." what was the right word? "Treated Dale Maddox."

She stood up straighter. "Treated him? How?"

Julia spoke up. "He killed him."

Joshua hated that word but it was the truth. "He wanted to come back down here...come after you for wounding him." Her face was a mix of emotions and Joshua doubted whether or not he should have said something. "He won't be coming for you. You don't have to worry about that."

Her stance relaxed slightly. "Thank you."

"And now," Ryan gazed down at the street below them, "I believe it's time to go."

* * *

Jack was finding this turn of events very hard to comprehend. It had been two days after getting Grace back and he still didn't know his place, whether it was in the house, the resistance, with Lily and Grace and in life. The feeling of being lost and untethered only seemed to be getting worse and not better. He kept his rosary in the drawer of his nightstand but he hadn't used them since that first night in the house. He felt like a failure as a priest and a man at the moment so he did what always seemed to help in moments like this: he fell asleep.

He had been sleeping on the couch in the downstairs that afternoon when Grace came bounding in and woke him up with the announcement it was snowing. She already had her winter coat on, mittens and boots and was waiting for him to take her out on the now snow covered beach. The fear of Lily not knowing where her daughter was and then finding out he had taken her on a walk scared him into asking questions.

"Where's your Mom?"

She huffed indignantly, much like Lily did when she was annoyed. "Sleeping. But she gets grouchy if I wake her up."

Fair enough. He left the comfortable couch, wrote a note so Lily would know where they were and pulled on his coat. Even though his wound was almost healed, he felt exhausted but he wasn't about to give up this chance at being alone with Grace. Lily had been understandably protective of Grace since they made it back from the city and he hadn't had a chance to speak with her about Grace. Now was his chance to get to know the little girl who was special in more than one way.

"Do you like snow?" she asked when they stepped outside.

"Yes, I do." Jack smiled. "Do you like the snow?"

Grace marched at a good clip down the beach. "Yes but Mommy doesn't like it. She says she prefers hot sand."

Jack remembered how much Lily liked the desert in Iraq. She never got tired of the sun or heat. He wondered if it was a V thing or just a Lily thing. "What other things do you like?"

"Ponies and ice cream. I like the Little Mermaid and fairies. I like to sing but only when Mommy sings with me." She scrunched up her nose. "She's not very good."

Jack laughed. "No, she's not."

"How do you know Mommy?"

"We, uh, worked together a long time ago."

"Oh." She turned around to face him and lifted up her arms, the universal sign of children who wanted to be picked up. It was the first thing she did that reminded him of himself and not Lily. He acquiesced to her silent request and picked her up, settling her on his hip. She stared him right in the eye and put her two small gloved hands on each of his cheeks. With all seriousness, she cocked her head to the side. "Are you my Daddy?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Five**

Lily perched in the window seat in the art room on the top floor of the house. She had a mug of hot coffee in her hand and absently sipped at it while watching Jack and Grace on the beach. She hadn't told Grace about Jack yet but she knew her daughter. Even at three, the child had made larger leaps of logic. She smiled slightly trying to imagine Jack's face when Grace just came out and asked if he was her father. He wouldn't be the first man Grace had posed that question to but he would most likely be the first one to say "yes." Lily wasn't sure how she felt about that. If Jack confirmed his parentage, Grace would let the whole house know. She wasn't sure how Jack would react to it being common knowledge that he wasn't exactly a celibate priest all those years.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Lily turned in time to see someone backing out of the room. "Valerie?"

She poked her head back in through the door. "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"You're not." Lily did her best to make it sound like a command, not a request. "Come in."

Apparently it worked as Valerie re-entered the room and sat down at the drafting desk. She had a stack of letters in her hands and a look of apology on her face. "I have a confession to make."

Lily turned her eyes away from the window. "What is it?"

Valerie held up the stack of letters. "Ryan found these at your house. He wasn't sure when you would head back so he brought them with him. I was suppose to give them to you, but..."

"You read them, didn't you?" Lily tried to feel anger, even annoyance but she couldn't. She knew things were rough between Valerie and Ryan right now and if old love letters from Jack helped the two of them reconcile, then it would be worth it.

"I'm sorry. I had no right."

Lily took the letters back and set them down on the window seat next to her. "Don't worry about it. I don't mind."

Valerie got quiet for a few moments before voicing her next question. "I have to ask this. The Jack who wrote those letters-"

"Is the Jack that is here, yes."

"I can tell by how you two look at each other. There's a lot of love between you two still."

How they looked at each other? Lily frowned and tried to remember a time when she and Jack made eye contact with other people around. She was so careful to avoid him and when he was in the same room as her, she always found other places to set her eyes. Perhaps Valerie meant the looks they gave each other when the other person wasn't paying attention. She had re-memorized his face by looking at him without his knowing.

"Anyway," Valerie stood up. "I am sorry for reading your private letters but," she sighed, "It was better reading than 'The Thornbirds.'"

Lily gave her a smile. "Valerie, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

She pulled her cardigan closer around her chest. "Sure."

"Did you love Ryan before the V's showed up?"

"Yes, I did. But that was before I found out he'd been lying to me all this time."

It struck Lily at that point that Jack had never accused her of lying to him about her extra terrestrial heritage. He had been angry about her keeping Grace from him but not about her being a V. Lily held up a letter. "You said reading these letters showed a lot of love between Jack and me. Didn't you and Ryan have the same thing?"

"We did."

"What changed it? His confession of being a V? That didn't change who he was twelve hours before the V's showed up or twelve hours before now. He's still the same man you knew and loved. He's doing his best to protect you now and he's putting a lot on the line to do this. I've known Ryan for about ten years now and he's a good man. He always was and he continues to be one." Lily shook the letter in her hand. "Don't make the same mistake I did. Don't turn your back on someone you love with every fiber of your being."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I know you're right, I do."

"Good. Now maybe Ryan will stop being pissy all the time and go back to being his quiet self."

Valerie laughed. "He can be short tempered." But her seriousness returned. "I do think you should take your own advice now. You have a second chance with Jack, you should take it."

Lily shook her head slowly. "He made his choice a long time ago and he chose God. I won't diminish his choice. It was a very honorable one."

Valerie pulled another letter out of her cardigan pocket. "But he was willing to give it up for you. That was his choice as well."

Lily took the letter from Valerie and glanced down at the writing. The last line was faded from Lily running her fingers over the words. No matter how many times she had read them, it still affected her.

_You asked me in the last letter to sum up what I wanted to be in one word. I know you're expecting a response like "priest," "care-giver" or even "pastor." But you would be wrong. I keep repeating it to myself, this new mantra that is threatening to take over as my "Hail Mary's." _

_What do I want to be? Yours. _

"You and Jack haven't changed as much as you would like to think either," Valerie said. "Second chances are too rare to waste."

Lily heard the door quietly shut but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the letter. _Yours._ It was such a simple word, short and sweet. It was human a word. V's weren't suppose to refer to themselves as individuals. It was always "ours." It was the collective mindset that trapped them under Anna and her bliss. She ran her fingers over the handwriting again.

_Yours._

He had wanted her...as a person, as a woman. He gave her what she needed to break from the collective and join the resistance. He was the reason behind the person she was today. How could she not love him for giving her the greatest gift of individuality? But what had she given him in return? The only things she could come up with were confusion and heart ache. She couldn't get the image of him laying in the hospital bed, doped up on human pain medications and repeating "I'm sorry." She was the one who should have been apologizing to him.

* * *

Anna paced back and forth in front of the window of her office. Marcus watched her patiently. He knew why she was on edge and he didn't blame her for being restless. The funeral for Grace had gone on without one little blip on the radar of Lily or the resistance. He had to admit, it left him surprised as well. Even though he knew of Joshua's bait and switch, he still expected an incident to occur during the funeral. There were the regular protester's but no resistance members.

"I do not understand." Anna's voice was tight with anger. "Where is she?"

"We have multiple units searching the city for her."

"She's not in the city. She wouldn't be that stupid. Is her house in Pennsylvania still under surveillance?"

"Yes, it is."

Anna shook her head. "I can not believe she hasn't returned there yet. Why hasn't she shown herself yet? What is she waiting for?"

"Perhaps she won't show herself at all," Marcus suggested. "She may be in hiding and want to remain anonymous."

Anna's eyes narrowed. "She is my sister, Marcus. I know her as well as I know myself. If she still supported the decision to come to Earth then she would have returned to the mothership on day one. The fact that she is not here or made contact means that she has taken a stance against me. She will not be quiet for long."

Marcus looked at the watch on his wrist. "Mr. Decker's broadcast is about to start. Would you like to watch it?"

Anna gave a half nod and the screen sprang to life. Apparently, Chad Decker had just finished greeting his viewers. Anna's interest perked up at seeing the anti-V signs and protester's standing behind him. There were two women who were standing towards the front of the crowd as Chad walked over to them. One was very average looking, slightly shorter with dark hair. The other one was taller, thinner and blond. Both were holding pictures of teenage boys. She immediately recognized one of the pictures.

"I'm here today with Teresa DiMonte and Erica Evans. Both of these women believe their sons, Brandon and Tyler, are on the New York mothership." He passed the microphone to the blond woman.

"I keep trying to contact my son but I can't seem to get through. I want to know if he's alright and I also want him home."

The other woman pushed her way to the microphone. "How do we know that they're not holding our boys against their will and experimenting on them? I want my Brandon back too."

Anna turned the screen off. "It seems that Tyler has worn out his welcome. Marcus, tell Lisa I want to speak with her and Tyler. We can not allow these mothers to paint us as kidnappers. It also appears that Mr. Decker needs to be reminded of his place."

"Would you like me to contact him?"

"No, I'll do that myself. We're long overdue for a heart to heart."

* * *

Lily had been putting Grace to bed when the phone rang. Jack had stayed behind when Erica, Ryan and Eric had gone into the city to do the news broadcast so she heard him answer it. Getting Grace to sleep seemed to take forever since all Lily wanted to do was find out how the news broadcast went for Erica. After sixty minutes that seemed like an eternity, Grace was settled and Lily ran down the stairs. Jack was sitting in front of the television, remote control in hand.

"Well?" Lily asked. "Was she on? Who called?"

He held up the remote with a smile. "Thank God for TiVo."

He pressed a button and the stilled news broadcast jumped to life. There was Erica, looking like a very worried mom holding a picture of Tyler.

"I keep trying to contact my son but I can't seem to get through. I want to know if he's alright and I also want him home."

"Perfect!" Lily said. "She was absolutely perfect. Anna's going to get to her nose bent out of joint over this. So, was it Erica on the phone?"

"Yeah," he was grinning widely. "Tyler called her about an hour after the broadcast. She's going to one of the landing docks in the Bronx and picking him up."

Lily sank down on the opposite end of the couch. "Oh goody. I can't wait to have a moody teenager in this house. That's going to make things so much easier on us."

"And having a chatty three year old doesn't make things harder?"

"At least she's small enough to pick up and move."

Jack nodded. "She is that."

Now that the good news had been shared, an uncomfortable silence hung in the air. Ryan and Eric had gone with Erica into the city while Julia stayed behind to study human psychology with Valerie and Georgie rested. He had finally allowed Lily to use some of her V medicine to heal up his bullet wound but it would take a few days for him to recover fully. Lily took the opportunity to ask Jack a question she couldn't bring herself to ask Grace.

"I saw you and Grace out in the snow today."

He nodded. "I didn't think you would mind-"

"No, I didn't mind at all." _You are her father, _she almost said but swallowed the words. Just as she was gearing up to ask the next question, Jack beat her to it.

"Grace asked me if I was her father."

"Considering you're a priest, I would assume you didn't lie to a child."

He sighed. "No, I didn't lie to her. And about being a priest-"

Lily stood up abruptly. "Not this again, Jack." She didn't want to hear this. It had been four years and her emotions still smarted whenever Grace said or did something that reminded her of Jack. She shouldn't have even come downstairs. "I'm going to bed."

Jack jumped up too and blocked her hasty exit. "I'm trying to admit that I made a mistake by going back to the church. I missed out on three years of Grace's life. Hell, I missed out on four years of your life."

"You cursed."

"Yeah, I did. I'm also the father of a three year old child and not married to her mother. That's not exactly the proper behavior of a priest."

Lily's annoyance started to fade in hope. Maybe...just maybe...

The phone rang and startled both of them. Jack picked it up but wasn't able to get a word in. Lily could hear chaos and yelling from where she was standing. Erica's voice resounded above the din.

"They jumped us at the landing station!"

Lily turned and ran up the stairs. "Georgie, Julia, we have to go now!"

Georgie passed her on the stairs, loading his gun as he went. Julia grabbed a med kit and followed him. Valerie stood out in the hall looking nervous. "Is everything alright?"

"It will be, but we have to go into the city. Watch Grace for me?"

"Sure."

Lily turned around and headed back downstairs. The front door was already open, Jack waiting for her.

"Everyone's in the car."

"It's going to take us at least an hour and half to reach them." Lily moved past him but he grabbed her arm.

"Lily-"

"Later, Jack." She patted his hand. "We'll talk later."

"It's not about that," he leaned forward, "we can't trust Julia."

* * *

Erica crouched down behind a crate. She could hear Ryan breathing somewhere off to her left but Eric was still out there somewhere. They had been so foolish taking him with them tonight. She was so close to getting Tyler back in her sights again. Eric's betrayal left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Erica?"

"Yeah?" She heard some shuffling and Ryan was suddenly next to her.

"Do you see him?"

"No but I'm certain I hit him with that last shot. Not sure where it hit though."

Ryan reloaded his gun. "Aim for the head, not the heart."

She smiled wryly. "Don't tell me you don't have a heart."

"We have multiple ones but you can't get to them with a bullet. Head shot is the only sure kill."

Erica took the time to reload her own weapon. "You think we can hide long enough until the others get here?"

"We're going to have to."

Erica was getting ready to move farther into the dark warehouse when she looked outside and saw one of the V shuttles coming in for a landing. Tyler would be on that ship. She couldn't let him get into the middle of the fight. "I have to go out there."

"What? They'll kill you as soon as you step out onto the dock."

"My son is about to get off that ship. I have to be there for him."

"What good will you be to him if you're dead?"

"What good will I be if I don't go out there and defend him?" She could see Ryan frown, even in the dark.

"You better hope the others show up very soon."


	6. Chapter 6

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Six**

Erica used the shaft of light that came through the window behind her to read her watch. It had been an hour and twenty-five minutes since the shuttle landed but no one had come out of it yet. They were waiting for her to make the first move. She would have been out there before the ship even landed if it hadn't been for Ryan encouraging her to stay put.

"We don't even know if he's on that ship," he said.

She must have been shifting around too much to elicit his gentle warning. "I know."

There was some slight movement coming from the side door closest to them but even in the dim light, Erica could see Georgie and Jack making their way towards them. She only felt half relieved.

"Where's Lily?" Ryan asked.

"She took Julia out back," Georgie said with a wry grin, "to have a little chat with her."

Erica noticed a tense set to Jack's jaw. She didn't think killing would ever sit well with him, especially if it was Lily doing the act. She didn't know the extent of Jack and Lily's past, though Grace's presence spoke volumes, but she had noticed he hadn't worn his collar for the last few days. But that was an issue to be dealt with later.

"Any sign of your kid?" Georgie asked.

"Not yet."

Ryan sighed. "I am going to say that he's not on that ship."

"Mom?"

Erica jumped to her feet but felt three pairs of hands grab hold of her and pulled her back down. "That's him, that's Tyler!" But before she could break free from their grasp, another voice answered Tyler's and Erica stilled slightly. It was Lily.

"Are you Tyler Evans?"

"Yeah?"

"Anyone else with you?"

"Uh, no. Are you alright?"

"Fine," Lily answered shortly. "Let's go."

"Where's my mom?"

"I don't know but we need to leave, now."

Erica felt everyone's grip loosen and she took the opportunity to make her way to the side door. Thankfully, no one tried to stop her this time. They filed out of the building, guns drawn and plastered against the side of the building. She saw the dark form of Julia laying near the car but noticed the light from the street lamps glistened off a trail of blood that led to the front of the warehouse. Tyler's question rang in her ears.

_Are you alright?_

Lily was hurt. She turned to tell whoever was closest but Tyler's voice interrupted her.

"Mom! There you are."

She stifled the cry of relief that threatened to erupt from her and grabbed his arm. "Come on, we have to go."

He yanked his arm free from her. "I only came so you would stop giving the V's a bad rap. I'm here, I'm fine."

"And you need to come with us," Lily added.

"No," he shook his head. "I'm going back up there."

"The hell you are," Erica stepped forward and when she grabbed his arm, made sure she had a strong grip this time.

"Your mother's right," Jack spoke up. "It's not safe for you up there."

"Oh great, now the Priest is in on this?"

"Hey," Lily appeared behind him and Erica tried not to notice how pale she looked. "None of us had to come here tonight but we did. Some gratitude would nice. Respect would be even better but I'll settle for gratitude."

Erica took the opportunity of a stunned Tyler and pulled her son around the corner of the building, using the momentum to propel him to the car. Thankfully, seeing Ryan and Georgie standing behind Jack put enough trepidation into Tyler that he didn't resist too much on the way to the car. Having Lily on the other side of Tyler helped matters too. No sooner did they put Tyler in the back of the car, then Georgie shouted a warning to get down. Erica pushed Tyler down in the backseat and slammed the door shut. Thin, metal spikes drove themselves into the car and ground around them.

Erica fumbled for her gun but someone beat her to it and two shots rang out. The seeker that had been sent exploded in a shower of sparks. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the gun in Jack's hands.

"Everyone alright?" Ryan asked.

Erica noticed the three men were standing and no sign of injury. Lily, however, was propping herself up against the hood of the car. "Lily's hurt."

"It's not that bad." Lily waved it off. "It can wait. We really should get back to the house. Eric and Julia could have told them where we were camping out."

Ryan straightened up suddenly. "Jack, you ride with me and Lily. See if you can patch her up. Georgie, go with Erica and her son. We'll only stop long enough to get our things from the Hamptons before moving elsewhere."

* * *

Lily tried to focus to something, anything, other than Jack's probing fingers. He was holding a penlight in his teeth to see the wound better but every bump in the road jostled it and she could hear him grind his teeth tighter.

"You're going to chip a tooth if you keep that up," she ground out.

"You haf a bedder idear," he mumbled back.

She knew it wasn't good. In fact, she knew she would bleed out before they reached the beach house. Julia had cleaned them out of medical supplied. The med kit she brought with her was completely empty. She didn't want to believe it, she wanted to see Grace one more time. Grace... "Do you want to know why I named our daughter Grace?"

Jack looked down at her, panic rising in his eyes. She knew he would recognize battlefield defeatism as soon as he saw it. But it didn't matter now. It was unavoidable and there were things he needed to know before she left him again. He spit the pen light out of his mouth. "You can tell me later, Lily."

"Whenever I heard you recite your rosary, you would always say 'Hail Mary, full of grace.' Mary was chosen by God, wasn't she? Favored in His sight?"

"She was."

Lily looked over his shoulder and out the backseat window the car. She could see the mothership in the distance and frowned. "I wanted our daughter to be favored by your God but I didn't want to offend Him by naming her Mary." A smile found it's way back on her face. "So I named her Grace." Jack's hands had stilled and the pen light hadn't been returned to his mouth.

"Don't die. Please."

Lily smiled wider. "You were always so polite. So kind. Grace is more like you than me. You two will get along just fine."

"Lily-"

She blindly reached out and found one of Jack's hands, warm and reassuring. She would have liked to have felt them on her skin one more time but holding onto him would have to do. "Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

Even with things dimming, she could tell he was crying. "Don't shed tears. We're soldiers. Revolutionaries. When one of us dies..."

"The other's feel pride, not grief," he finished.

Lily squeezed Jack's hand until he looked at her. He too was crying. "Pride, Jack, not grief." She really had forgotten just how blue his eyes were.

* * *

Valerie couldn't sleep. She had checked in on Grace about twenty times, paced all four floors in the house and even tried to step out onto the beach but found it too cold to be out there for long. Watching the news, which only covered the Visitors now, didn't help her worried mind. She wanted to call Ryan, hear his voice and know that everything was alright.

"Mommy!"

Valerie took two stairs at a time but Grace kept yelling for her mom, even after Valerie had gathered her up into her arms. "Gracie, it's okay. Your mom will be back soon."

The girl buried her face into Valerie's shoulder and kept crying. "No, she's not. She's not coming back. She's d-dead."

"Oh sweetheart, that was just a dream."

"No, it wasn't."

Valerie rubbed Grace's back. "Sometimes dreams feel very real to us but they're just dreams. You'll see. Your mom is going to be back in no time and I'll send her in to tuck you in again, alright?"

Grace's crying had settled down into quiet sniffles. She could still feel the tension in the little body and knew Grace wouldn't be soothed until Lily showed up, safe and sound. After a few more minutes of quiet, Valerie could feel Grace's steady breathing. Carefully, she put Grace back under the blankets and turned the light out. As she was going back down the stairs, Erica, Georgie and Tyler came through the front door in a rush. All formalities were dropped.

"Get what you can in the next five minutes," Georgie said to her, "we have to get out of here."

"Where's Ryan?"

Erica stopped. "He isn't back yet?"

Valerie shook her head. "I haven't even heard from him."

Georgie pulled out his phone but as soon as he punched in Ryan's number, they could hear the ring come from outside the house. Georgie opened the front door and immediately step back. Ryan stepped across the threshold, stone faced and held the door open as Jack followed behind him carrying Lily. At first Valerie thought the woman was asleep but then realized that was not the case. Valerie came down the rest of the stairs and stood by Ryan as they all watched Jack carry her up the stairs. As soon as he was out sight, the questions started.

"What happened?" Erica asked.

Ryan kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, a sign Valerie picked up on whenever he was distressed. "Julia had an assassin's spike on her. When Lily confronted her, she stabbed her."

"Jack healed from his wound," Erica said.

"That's because he's human," Ryan answered. "The spike penetrated not only her human skin but her V skin as well. Julia must have been right next to Lily when she attacked her. There was no stopping the bleeding."

Georgie pushed his way into the conversation. "What about the med kit she brought with her? Wasn't there anything in there that could help?"

"Med kit was empty. Julia cleaned us out of all medical supplies."

Erica angrily shoved her gun into the waistband of her jeans. "Where was Jack taking her?"

"The bathtub." Ryan heaved a sigh. "We have to clear out of the house within fifteen minutes."

"What about the body?" Georgie asked.

"We leave her here," Erica answered. "Resting in the bathtub."

Ryan nodded slowly. "Lily would have appreciated that."

Valerie wondered if she should tell them about Grace's nightmare but realized it was Jack who would most likely be taking care of Grace now. Without saying anything, she turned and went back up the stairs and followed the light that was spilling out from underneath the bathroom door. She knocked once.

"I know we have to go," Jack's voice carried out to her, "but just give me a minute."

Valerie opened the door and stepped inside. Jack was sitting on the floor, blood covering his shirt, coat, hands and even his face. Lily was curled up inside the tub, still looking blissfully asleep. "Jack, I just wanted you to know that Grace had a nightmare before you all came back."

His brow furrowed and some of the anger and grief gave way to confusion. "Is she alright?"

"She said that in her nightmare, her mother died."

Jack dropped his head. "What am I suppose to tell her? How do I tell a child that her mother isn't coming back again?"

For Valerie, that was an easy question and she quickly slipped into counselor mode. "You tell her exactly what you just said. That her mom isn't coming back anymore. That she loved her very much."

He turned bloodshot blue eyes towards her. "How am I suppose to take care of my three year old daughter that I just met a few days ago?"

Valerie swallowed the lump in her throat, wishing she had an answer for him this time. Instead, she just mutely shook her head and backed out of the bathroom.

***

Author's Note: The rest of this story is now dedicated to all the Jack/Erica fans out there. I must admit...I wasn't one when I started writing this fic, but the more I write them...the more I like them together. :-) Congratulations...you've added another shipper to your ranks!


	7. Chapter 7

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Seven**

"You're certain?"

Marcus tried to hide his worry with smug satisfaction but he had an idea he came across as dispassionate instead. Even after years of studying human emotion, the expressions still eluded him. "Yes, I am."

Anna allowed a slight smile to tug at her lips. "Grace is dead and now, so is Lily. Our loose ends are being tied up very quickly."

Well, there was another lose end. "What about Mr. Decker?"

"I had a little talk with him. Whenever we need to communicate with the media, we will send a pre-recorded message to the news channels. After a while, when he has come to his senses, Mr. Decker will return to being our spokesman. What of the resistance?"

"There are still some Fifth Column members out there but with Lily gone, I am certain their allegiance is beginning to waver. We have effectively cut off the head of the snake."

Anna's features sharpened. "Lily was not John May. The head is still on the snake. If we find and kill John May, then I will able to sleep sounder."

"Of course."

Anna sighed heavily. "And what of Tyler?"

"His mother was able to spirit him away. We haven't been able to re-establish contact."

"I want him found."

Marcus didn't have to feign confusion this time. "If I may ask, why is he so important?"

"Lisa believes that he is the one."

"And you?"

Anna's knowing smile returned. "I believe his mother is more than just a cautious woman when it comes to us."

"You think she is part of the resistance?"

"I think if we find Tyler and his mother, we may find the head of the snake."

Marcus nodded. "I will start the search immediately." When Anna didn't respond anymore, he quickly left her to her thoughts. Secretly he hoped Anna was wrong and Tyler would not lead them to the resistance but he didn't get this far on hope. He had to prepare for the worst which meant calling in some resistance members that only he was aware of their existence. And with Chad being dismissed from Anna's services for the moment, he would be the best man for the job.

He went to his personal quarters and retrieved a slim silver box that held a correspondence for his daughter's eyes only. The three women had been part of the first wave of V's to settle on the Earth. He hadn't had any communication with them in over ten years now. He wasn't even sure they were alive or still on their island off the coast of Florida. If they were, he would hear from them very soon and he was surprised at how that made him feel. He looked forward to it...it made him happy even. Maybe human emotions weren't that difficult for him to understand after all.

* * *

He had tried to explain what "freedom of the press" meant and how the American people thrive on the debate of pro's and con's but Anna didn't want to hear any of it. She wanted positive press only and even though Chad tried to make her understand that would only come across as slanted and one-sided, she dismissed him indefinitely. He wished her luck in finding another correspondent but until then, he was out of a story and a job.

"Decker!"

Chad fought the urge to roll his eyes and weaved his way through the bullpen and into his producer's office.

"Shut the door, Decker."

This wasn't going to be good. Chad did as he was told and took the chair in front of the desk, waiting for his verbal rebuke.

Gabe Simmons was a pit bull when it came to the news. It was why he was one of the youngest producers in Manhattan . Chad had a lot of respect for him even though he disagreed with over half of his decisions. "I'll make this easy on you, Gabe. I screwed up. I know I did."

Gabe shrugged his thin shoulders and tossed his reading glasses on the desk. "That isn't what I wanted to talk to you about but you're right. You don't throw an opportunity like you had away. Who knows? Maybe she cool down and ask for you again. But in the mean time, I have an assignment for you."

An assignment? Chad didn't know if this was going to be good or bad. The last time he had done a report that showed a financial company in a bad light, Gabe stuck him on school closings for an entire winter. It had snowed twice. "What kind of assignment?"

Gabe put his glasses back on and handed Chad a sealed envelope and slim, sliver metal case. "This was mailed to my office this morning. There's a paid plane ticket from LaGuardia to Key West and a phone number. The note said that you were to call the number when you reached Key West and deliver this box to the person who answers the phone."

"I'm a delivery boy."

"You see this box?" Gabe took the box back and held it up. "This came from the mothership. One of the V's up there is trying to communicate with someone down here. I want to know why and what the message is. Take the plane ticket, enjoy the balmy breezes of Key West and find out who the sender is and what they're saying. And who knows," he handed the box back to Chad, "maybe by the time you get back from your trip, the Ice Queen up there will have thawed somewhat towards you."

Chad gathered up the envelope and box. It was November in New York City and he was never that fond of the cold. At least he could enjoy some warm weather even if this was going to be a wild goose chase.

* * *

Erica had intended to just check on Grace but found Jack sleeping awkwardly in a lawn chair next to the little girl's bed. No wonder he walked around half asleep during the day. She carried through with her original intention and glanced at Grace, who was sleeping soundly then she turned her attention to Jack. Her neck hurt just looking at him.

"Jack," she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Jack?"

He jerked awake but from the look on his face, it took a few more seconds for his mind to catch up to his body. "What's wrong?"

"You need to sleep."

His forehead furrowed. "I thought I was."

"You need to sleep in a bed." She tugged on his arm. "Come on."

"But Grace-"

"I'll come back and sit with her."

He heaved a sigh but followed her out of the closet sized room. Georgie's house was falling down around them but Ryan kept assuring them it was only temporary until he found another safe house. That had been a week ago. Lily's sudden absence haunted them even here. Maybe especially here, Erica thought with a grimace. Georgie had lost his family to the V's and now Grace had lost her mother. It was turning into a house weighed down with grief and it starting to become suffocating.

"You can sleep in here," she paused by the room where Tyler was sleeping. "There's two twin beds in there. Tyler has the one on the right."

He looked into the dark room with bloodshot eyes. "I really should stay close to Grace."

"Hey," she grabbed his arm and held it until he looked at her. "She hasn't had a nightmare for the last three nights. The best thing you can give her is a fully functional..." she paused, choking on the word and finally spitting it out, "father." It didn't taste as bitter as she expected. She smiled slightly, feeling the lack of sleep herself. "Father Jack."

He grunted at her bad joke. "Sounds like I'm not the only one who needs sleep."

"I've put in more hours in dreamland than you. Go."

He gave her a grateful smile before disappearing into the room. She heard the old springs in the bed give way under his weight and waited until his even breathing blended with Tyler's snores. When she was satisfied that Jack was asleep, she headed back down the hall to Grace's room. She was surprised to find the little girl sitting up in her bed. Erica quickly went to the side of her bed and sat down on the edge.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

She shook her head but the tears in her eyes told a different story.

"Sometimes it helps if you talk about it."

Grace inhaled shakily as if she was going to speak but then her face crumbled and she started to cry. Erica picked her up and cradled her in her lap. She didn't know what kind of comfort to offer the girl.

"I miss my mom," Grace whispered.

"I know you do."

"But," she took another steadying breath that turned into a hiccup. "But I'm happy I have my dad."

Erica smiled. "I'm sure he would love to hear that."

"Does that make me a bad person, Miss Erica?"

Erica paused her rocking movement. "Why in the world would that make you a bad person?"

Grace absently tugged on a strand of her own hair. "That I miss my mom but forget about missing her when I'm with my dad?"

"That doesn't make you a bad person, sweetie." Erica resumed the lulling movement. "That's what helps us survive. It's what makes us human." She thought about those words as Grace fell back asleep in her arms. She leaned back against the headboard, sleep starting to override her own thoughts. Happiness...grief...love...were they the things that separated them from the V's? Was the ability to feel loyalty and compassion on the human race what fueled the resistance? There had to be something that separated the resistance V's from the invading V's. If that was the case, then maybe they really did have a chance at winning this war.

* * *

"_I'm gonna break down these walls I built around myself_

_I wanna fall so in love with you and no one else_

_Could ever mean half as much to me as you do now_

_Together we'll move on, just don't turn around." _

"Abigail!"

Sarah watched her two sisters argue in the baggage claim of the Key West airport and tried to hide her smile. Abigail had her iPod, singing along rather loudly until Debra had enough of the attention they were drawing to themselves. Not that it mattered in Sarah's mind. They very rarely left the little island that was off Florida's coast and the attitude of Key West was different enough for their odd behavior to blend in without suspicion. At worst, the traveler's would think Abigail had too much to drink on the plane. She had to admit though, watching her serious sister get flustered by Abigail's free spirit attitude never got old.

"Looks like someone started their vacation early."

Sarah looked up to see a man, about in his thirties, standing a few feet from her. He was well dressed, jeans and a long sleeved dress shirt that he was now rolling the sleeves up due to the heat. He had a suitcase, computer case and backpack with him. And then she saw the wool overcoat laid over the suitcase. "Did you come in on the New York flight?"

He gave her a slightly curious look, an eyebrow raised over blue eyes. "Yes."

Sarah couldn't help herself. "Trying to get away from those pesky V ships?"

He laughed nervously. "I guess you could say that."

"You're Chad Decker." It was a statement, not a question, but he nodded anyway. "I'm Sarah."

He took her extended hand. "You're the one I spoke with on the phone?"

"No, that was my sister, Debra." She pointed over to the still arguing duo. "And the one that is getting reprimanded for singing is my other sister, Abigail."

He looked like he was torn between laughing or going back to New York. "Um, all I really need to do is-"

"Deliver a message, yes, we know. We've been expecting it for awhile now. But obviously you've packed for the trip so why not take a few days and enjoy yourself?"

He looked back at Debra and Abigail who were making their way over to them. Debra was stormy faced but Abigail was happily humming now. "I don't want to impose."

"Nonsense," Debra said. "It would be no imposition. Besides, we would like to hear about the V's in New York."

Sarah took the opportunity of Chad's reluctance and picked up his suitcase and coat. "It's settled then. You'll come stay with us." She kind of felt sorry for him at that moment and wondered what they looked like to him. Three sisters that looked to be about the same age, though Debra looked slightly older due to her serious nature and tendency to frown. All of them had their father's black hair though in varying lengths. Debra was still scowling at Abigail who had upgraded from humming to whispering the words of the song while she watched the people move around the baggage claim. Sarah took some pride in the fact that she appeared the most the sane out of the three.

Debra grabbed ahold of Abigail's arm. "We should hurry if we're going to make the boat."

"Boat?" Chad asked.

"We live on a island off the coast," Sarah explained as she started to walk out of the airport. Thankfully, Chad followed her. "It's not a long boat ride."

"You don't get seasick, do you?" Debra asked.

Chad swallowed nervously. "Uh, not terribly."

"Here," Abigail finally spoke up in her chipper voice. "This helps me." She handed her iPod over to a surprised Chad. "Tracks 23, 27, 34 and 45 help me get my mind off things that are unpleasant."

Sarah cast a side long glance at Debra who looked just as surprised as her. Abigail never gave up her music for anyone, let a lone a stranger. This was going to be very interesting to say least and it only sparked Sarah's curiosity even more about the man their father had chosen to send to them. Perhaps he would end up being more than just a errand boy.

**_Lyrics are from "Walls" by All Time Low_


	8. Chapter 8

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Eight**

She was so used to being dressed in fatigues that wearing jeans and a sweater felt uncomfortable. But it was more than the clothes, it was her human skin. Ever since Anna came, Jael felt her skin turn itchy and as uncomfortable as the wool sweater she was wearing now. There wasn't a moment of comfort or rest available to her since the V's arrival. That wasn't the way with Allen, her mate. He acclimated to his skin better than she did. It could have something to do with him being John May's right hand man, seeing the first of their kind experience emotion and embrace it instead of pushing it away. She wondered if she would ever just feel emotion, like an instinct instead of a conscious choice.

"We don't have to go, J."

She smiled at Allen. "No, it's the right thing to do."

They were waiting in Houston at the gate for their plane to board. They had both served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and had been stateside for six months before pulling some strings for a honorable discharge. They had considered going AWOL but knew it wouldn't help the resistance if the US government were looking for two deserting soldiers.

"Hey," he sat down next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "If anyone understands wanting to live in anonymity, it's Ryan."

"But Ryan is the only soldier they have now that Lily is gone. They need us."

"Technically, he's not a solider, he's just adapted very well to defense. Yesterday he told me they gained a new recruit that is going to be helpful." Allen smiled slyly. "Remember good old Kyle Hobbes?"

Jael tried to hide her surprise. He had been on their unit's watch list more than once. "Kyle Hobbes? The terrorist Kyle Hobbes?"

"The one and only."

Jael sat back against the chair. "I wonder how they recruited him?"

Allen shook his head. "Ryan did say they have a human FBI agent working with them. She's been indispensable from the sounds of it." Allen wrapped a finger around her hair and tugged slightly. "We may just win this time."

"Always the optimist."

"Someone has to be."

Jael tried to redirect her thoughts from Allen and his proximity. Control was her best trait but he had a way of unwinding that aspect of her personality quite thoroughly. "So why did Hobbes throw his hat in with us?"

Allen's cheek twitched as he tried to a hide a smile, familiar with her tactics. "Apparently Anna set him up to take the blame for a warehouse shootout where some V's were killed. Of course, the bodies were recovered before the human authorities showed up but Anna played it off as a routine shuttle landing that Hobbes attacked."

"Who was killed?"

Allen shrugged. "Some no names but they are the ones that took out Lily."

Jael was pleased at her ability to feel a pang of sadness at the mention of Lily's name. "Constant vigilance."

"Now more than ever."

"Thank you for your patience," the flight attendant's smooth voice drifted over the waiting crowd. "We are now starting to board flight 4400 with service from Houston to New York City."

Allen looked at her with a steady gaze. "We get on that plane and there's no going back."

He was right. Once they showed up in New York to seek out the resistance, there was no abandoning them. It was going to be a hard, long fight. They were going to be outnumbered and outgunned. Anna had soldiers and trackers on her side and Jael shivered slightly. But this was what she and Allen had been training for all these years. She picked up her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and stood up with a smile.

"John May lives."

A wide smile broke across Allen's face, giving him the look of an exuberant child. "Yes, he does."

* * *

Erica wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up with the pace that had been set for her. She was head of the V task force, defending the V's by day and plotting their downfall at night. Ryan needed to keep Val close to New York City because of a V doctor that was another sleeper. The Fifth Column still lacked a permanent home, Tyler wanted to join the live aboard program and Erica had barely slept in a week. The only thing that kept pushing her was Grace.

The little girl's presence was comforting to wherever they settled for a few days. Ryan and Val saw hope in her intelligence and beauty. Georgie would stop everything and read whatever book she brought to him. Yesterday had been Charlotte's Web and Flowers in the Attic. Even Hobbes seemed to take a shine to her and the feeling was mutual on Grace's end, much to Jack's chagrin. Hobbes would do slight of hand tricks with pieces of computer equipment or bullets but within minutes she was copying the trick. And Jack...Erica shook her head. Jack was slowly and daily releasing his grief like someone opening a fist after punching a stone wall. She noticed she was seeing less and less of his rosary and more of a smile each day.

"When do you need to leave for work?"

Erica looked up at Ryan and handed him a cup of coffee. "I don't today. I finally have a day off."

Ryan nodded and glanced over his shoulder at Val who was stretched out on the couch sleeping. Because she did have the day off, everyone was gathered at her home for the day. By tonight, they would all move on to the next place and she would be left with an empty home once again. She never knew silence could be deafening.

"You should take time and rest," Ryan told her.

"Like Anna is resting."

Ryan gave her a slightly disappointed look but didn't contradict her.

"Have you been able to get anything useful off of Lily's computer?"

"She encoded everything on that computer," he answered. "Even things that had nothing to do with the Fifth Column. Just when I get the encryption decoded, it's an email to a coworker about schedules for nurses. I am finding some names, most of them are either dead or there isn't any contact information. I've contacted who I could but our best recruits are a married V couple that are career military."

That sounded hopeful. They had Hobbes but his expertise tended to list toward the unsavory. "What branch of the military?"

"Marine Corps. They've been enlisted for ten years. They didn't promise anything but Allen, the husband, worked with John May side by side. If anyone would come to our aid, it's Allen."

Georgie had come down the stairs carrying a copy of Stuart Little.

Erica smiled. "What, no VC Andrews today?"

"No," Georgie laughed, "Jack was afraid it would give Grace nightmares. Hell, it gave me nightmares but at the rate Grace is learning, she'll be reading it herself by the time she's six." Seriousness fell over his face again. "Any luck with contacts?"

"Ryan was telling me about Allen and his wife who are marines."

Georgie nodded. "I remember Allen but not his wife."

"Her name is Jael," Ryan offered. "She was the reason Allen was working with the resistance and apparently she changed sides shortly after the first resistance. I remember her and she was a fierce fighter."

"Any news about Meredith?" Georgie asked.

"I haven't found any contact information on Lily's computer yet for her. She was in hiding when she joined the first time, she's probably only gone deeper now. I was hoping she would have come forward by now."

Erica waited for either of the two men to expound on this piece of information but both went silent. "Who's Meredith? Is she another V?"

"No," Ryan answered, "she was human but she had found out about us."

"She was a medical examiner in White Plains," Georgie added. "Apparently she stumbled onto the V's by doing an autopsy on a V sleeper agent that wasn't incinerated properly."

Erica remembered what it felt like to see underneath Dale's human skin for the first time. The ground had tilted as her stomach rolled and everything she thought she knew was turned upside down. "I bet that was a nasty surprise."

"Actually," Georgie continued, "it only made her curious. She sought out the resistance looking for answers but ended up being one of our best fighters."

"A medical examiner?" Erica asked.

Ryan shrugged. "She studied the remains, documented what she found. Her research was instrumental in our physical attack on V's. She taught the humans in the resistance where all the kill shots were and how the human skin was wired to the V anatomy. Between her and Lily, we all were well educated in V anatomy from a human perspective."

"Why was she in hiding?"

Georgie shook his head. "She never told me details."

Ryan made a similar motion. "Me either. If she would have opened up to anyone it would have been Georgie."

Erica looked at Georgie, asking silently for an explanation but aware at the sensitivity of the matter. He answered quicker than she had expected.

"Meredith had lost her ten year old daughter a couple years before the first resistance. The loss split up her marriage. She had lost her family too."

"Was it V related?" Once again, she found herself wondering how long have the V's been here.

"No," Georgie answered, "it was political. She told me it was a car bomb and that they were after her husband. But that was as far as the conversation went."

"Meredith stands out in a crowd," Ryan added. "The bombing damaged the left side of her body. She had to have skin grafts done on her face, arms and legs. She's also blind in her left eye. If anyone wanted to find her, it wouldn't be too hard because of her scars. She had a lot of knowledge of how to stay hidden and now that Anna has come, I can guarantee she's deep underground by now."

Erica knew having someone with Meredith's experience would be indispensable. "Maybe Hobbes can find her since the 'underground' is his specialty."

"Where is he?" Georgie asked.

"Downstairs in the basement with Jack and Grace." Whenever Jack and Grace came to her house, the four year old always asked if she could go downstairs and sit in Tyler's bean bag. Before any of them could move, angry footsteps could be heard coming up from the basement. Jack was the first to appear, a confused Grace in his arms.

"Limericks do not count as poetry," he shouted over his shoulder.

Hobbes followed behind him. "It was a good one, Padre. No bad words-"

"I don't care. Do not teach my daughter limericks. In fact, don't teach her anything."

Erica felt caught in the middle of the argument. The mother inside of her understood Jack's desire to protect his daughter from bad influences. But the FBI agent realized that Hobbes was their only source of offense in this war right now and they needed to learn from him. The best way to soothe tension was to offer an distraction. "Hobbes, we have a job for you."

His attention refocused from Jack to her. "Finally."

"We need you to find someone from the first resistance, a human by the name of Meredith."

"Grayson," Georgie added. "Dr. Meredith Grayson."

Erica noticed a slight change in Hobbes at the mention of the name but as soon as she noticed it, it was gone. He gave a brief nod.

"I'll see what I can find."

* * *

"I think we can trust him."

Debra shook her head. "Which is why you have no say in what we decide to tell Mr. Decker, Abigail."

"It sounds like you've already made up your mind not to trust him, Debra." Sara crossed her arms, anticipating a loud discussion.

"He's a journalist," Debra answered, "a journalist who has spent a lot of time on the ship with Anna. From watching his past interviews and segments on the Visitors, yes, he's trying to be a news reporter but I'm afraid of the ideas that Anna has planted in his head."

Abigail pulled her earbuds out of her ears. "Marcus said that Chad has to be healed because of a brain aneurysm but..."

"But what, Abby?" Sarah asked. Abigail may act the part of the youngest, most immature of them but her insight was ten times more useful than either of theirs.

"But what if Anna wants to give him an aneurysm? It would make sense for her to put a 'safety valve' on a man who could give her bad press. All it would take would be one ill said word, Anna pushes a button and Chad Decker is gone."

"Then we need to have one of our doctor's look at him," Debra said. "That's the only way to make sure the scans that were originally done hadn't been tampered with."

Abigail smiled wistfully. "Joshua would be able to tell."

Debra started to roll her eyes when Sarah held up her hand to stop her. "Abby, we don't know if Joshua was able to make it."

"Or if he was able to get on the same ship as Anna."

Abigail's smile vanished. "It would have been nice if Marcus could've have given us more information."

Sarah had to agree. When Chad handed them the V computer the only thing on it was three words: John May Lives. It was a call to arms, that was all. No instruction, no contacts and no information. She hoped their decision to go to New York City was the correct one. Establishing contact with the Fifth Column would prove tricky in such a big city. There was now a V task force formed by the FBI and sending out sleeper agents of their own could muck up their chances of being successful. "We're going to have to move carefully and quietly. We'll leave Chad in the dark for now but just keep an eye on him."

"So long as we move," Debra said before leaving the kitchen, most likely to start packing.

Sarah glanced over at Abigail who was staring out of the window forlornly and her heart went out to her. All three of them had been hand picked by Marcus for the purpose of gathering Fifth Column members to stave off Anna's invasion. They had been there for twelve years now, assimilating into human culture, learning as much as they could and waiting for the ships to arrive.

"What if Joshua didn't make it, Sarah?"

"But what if he did?"

A small smile flitted across Abigail's face before she too left the kitchen. Sarah really hoped that Joshua did make it to the New York Mothership. Perhaps Marcus could pull some strings, get Joshua to come down to the city so he and Abigail could finally see each other again. John May was the first V to take a public stand against Anna but Joshua and Abigail were the first to separate themselves from the Bliss. They were the reason there was a resistance, a reason to fight. And for their sake, Sarah wouldn't fail.

* * *

Author's Note: Just a couple things...I'm so sorry for not updating in a long time. With all the new episodes, I was trying to figure out how to work everything into this storyline, then I thought I would start a new one but I didn't want to leave this one undone. So, I've decided to continue with this one, fitting in the parts that I liked from the canon episodes and adding my own ideas along the way so it's going to be a mixture of canon and AU.

Second, I know I'm adding a lot of OC's but I promise all the OC's (with semi-major parts) have been introduced now. I really feel like that resistance needs more members, hence the OC's. If anyone is interested, I can post a list of the actors and actresses that I used as models for my characters. I know some readers like to have their own image of OC's but if you want, I can send you a PM with a list of who I would choose to play my OCs...and I tried to pick actors that you might actually see on V.

Finally, thank you in advance for reviews! They are treasured!


	9. Chapter 9

**Deliver Us From Evil**

**Chapter Nine**

Meredith was certain she had lost her mind. She doubted her sanity when she applied for the live aboard program, questioned it when she accepted the Visitor's offer but now that she was standing with the rest of the live aboards on the New York mothership, she was certain she had gone crazy. She knew what they were capable of, these peace spewing lizards. She had gone through one resistance that failed spectacularly. Her only hope was if she could gather more information, more knowledge, then they would have a chance at winning this time.

She stood towards the back of the crowd while Anna gave her "Welcome Aboard" speech. Having spent time with Ryan, who had revealed himself to her to be a V but not many others, she watched the facial expressions and noted the tiny cracks in Anna's facade. The smile was strained though somewhat genuine. That unnerved Meredith. The live aboard program was necessary for Anna's plans and she was happy to have them there which only made Meredith all the more wary.

"You really should look more enthused to be here."

Meredith tried to suppress a scowl. She recognized the voice as Marcus' but he had chosen to stand on her left side, her blind side. It was not without reason, she was sure. "Forgive me for not swooning at the feet at your High Commander but you do realize my position."

"Yes," his voice was low, just barely above a whisper. "You humans have a saying concerning a situation like this?"

"We have many. 'A lamb being lead to slaughter.' 'Walking into the lion's den.'"

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'stupidity.'"

A wry smile made it's way across her scarred face. "That works as well."

"You know my conditions for being here."

"Yes, though they don't make much sense to me." She fought the urge to look at him but knew if Anna saw them talking, suspicion would be cast. At the moment, they stood just far apart to look like casual observers of the welcome speech.

"Just stay for a few days, allow Joshua to heal your scarring. We've already made arrangements for the Chief Medical Examiner to call requesting for your return to work."

"And Anna's just going to let me go?"

"She won't have a choice. You are considered a public servant, one that is going to be returned healed and whole to continue in her service. But until then, at least feign some excitement about being here."

"Alright then."

Anna had finished her speech and Meredith clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Anna gracefully made her exit from the platform. Various V's that had been standing at attention approached different humans, speaking pleasantly, friendly. Meredith couldn't help but feel like she was being witness to how Venus Flytraps lure their prey with pretty colors and sweet nectar. She suddenly felt very alone, unprotected.

"I will take you to Joshua now."

Marcus has been so quiet and she had assumed he had followed Anna when she left the platform. "Could you please walk on my right side?"

"Of course."

He suddenly appeared beside her and she started to follow him through the corridors of the ship. "Why does she want humans on the ship?"

"Contrary to everything that you may believe, Anna does not tell me all of her plans. There is a reason but I do not know it."

Meredith shook her head. "Trust must be earned, Marcus. I'm here on very little information and flimsy promises. You owe me something substantial."

"Which is why I am taking you to Joshua." His eyes roved around them and he slipped down a deserted hallway. "I can only assume that my lack of knowledge behind the live aboard program stems from the fact that it is a medical purpose."

"What could we humans offer to you though?" Meredith frowned. "You're an advanced race, solving our world's problems with a press of a button or a hand held medical scanner. What do you want from us?"

"Whatever it is, it is unique. A trait that only humans have and we lack."

Emotion was the first thing that came to her mind but she bit it back. Emotion separated the V's from Anna and that was unallowable. Besides, it was most likely a physical trait that Anna was looking for in the humans anyway.

Marcus spoke up again, changing subjects. "I do have a small favor to ask of you before you see Joshua."

"And that is?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a slim, silver box about the size of the palm of his hand. It took her a minute to realize what it was. "A digital camera?"

"One of the humans that was accepted to the live aboard program gave this to me as a token of appreciation but I don't know what it is or how to operate it."

Meredith took the camera from him, showed him where the power button, zoom and picture button were located. For a demonstration, she took a picture of him, waited until his eyes adjusted from the flash and showed him the picture on the miniature screen. She thought he did a decent act of being the learner but she knew with their own technological advances, he could have figured out the camera by himself.

"Thank you," he smiled at her with a touch of warmth as she handed back the camera. "Do you mind if I take a picture of you?"

Meredith shrugged. She never liked her picture taken, especially after the car bombing, but she gave a slight smile as Marcus took his first picture. He didn't say anything else to her as they finished their walk to the medical bay where Joshua was waiting for them.

* * *

Erica never enjoyed doing dishes before in her life but now she looked forward to it. It meant everyone had left and gone on to their respective hide outs. Ryan and Val had been hotel hopping, Georgie most likely was doing the same and Hobbes went...well, wherever he could. He was scoping out a warehouse on the Hudson not far from the dock where the shoot out had occurred. As soon as he cleared it, they would finally have a base of operations.

Jack and Grace, however, had become her semi-permanent house guests for the time being. Jack couldn't return to the church with Grace in tow, the similarities between father and daughter too glaring to ignore. Both of his parents were gone and he did admit having a sister who lived in California but that was too far from the resistance and he didn't want to send Grace away so soon after Lily's death. As of today, he had taken up residence in her home. She couldn't help but smile at the strange circumstances she found herself in: a moody teenager upstairs, a priest and his daughter in the basement and here she was enjoying the chore of doing dishes just because it felt normal.

"Hey, Mom."

She looked up from the sink to see Tyler standing there, hands shoved in his pockets and a lost look on his face. She had been so used to seeing the "I know more than my parents" look on his face that seeing him like this reminded her that he would always be her son and she would always be Mom.

"Hey, Ty."

"Everyone leave?"

"Jack and Grace are in the basement."

A slight smile flitted across his face. "She sacked out in the bean bag chair?"

Erica grinned in return. "Out cold."

"You, uh, need some help?"

She tilted her head towards the kitchen towel that was lying on the countertop. "You can dry."

He picked up the towel and started drying off the plates and glasses, never saying a word. She knew he would talk when he was ready, it would just take time. Apparently the time came when the last dinner plate was put away.

"Mom?"

"Yeah?"

His eyes glassed over with unshed tears and he bit his lower lip. "I don't know what I'm suppose to do now." He pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and held it out to her. "Lisa called me tonight and I didn't know if I should answer or...or just ignore it. I mean, she's one of them, isn't she? But what if she's not like them? I don't know..."

Erica wrapped her arms around her son, hating Anna and her race even more than she thought possible. "I know, Ty. I know it's really difficult to know who to trust right now."

The teenager that he was reared it's ugly again as he pushed his way out of Erica's embrace. "You don't know what it's like, Mom. I trusted Lisa, I was even thinking I was falling in love with her and now, after seeing the V's attack you and your friends on that dock when all you did was meet me...I don't know what to think anymore."

He had to know what they fighting against, what their enemy was trying to do to them as humans. He wanted to be treated like an adult, now they were at war and she would have to treat like an adult starting now. "Tyler, I do know what it's like to trust someone and have them betray you. You remember my partner, Dale?"

Realization and fear replaced indignation. "Yeah?"

Erica took a deep breath. "He was a Visitor, Ty. He tried to kill me."

"But that's not possible." He looked like he had stumbled upon a fact that she might have overlooked. It was denial, pure and simple. "Dale's been your partner for years. The V's just arrived."

"No, Ty. They've been here for a while. Ryan has been here for at least ten years, learning and assimilating into our culture and waiting for Anna to come. We don't know who to trust anymore. Anyone can be a V."

"But, what about all those people who were here today? How do you know we can trust them?"

"Because they all have something they're trying to protect from Anna. Ryan and Val have their baby, Jack has Grace, Georgie was part of the first resistance and lost his entire family because of it. And Hobbes," Erica paused. "Hobbes is getting paid a boat load of cash to be loyal."

"And what about you, Mom?"

She wanted to hug him again but didn't want to run the risk of having him withdraw from her once more. "I'm fighting so my son can have a future too."

He looked like he was ready to cry again but a couple clenches of his jaw and the tears evaporated. Finally, a look of determination fell piece by piece onto his face and he set his cell phone down next to Erica's hand which was resting on the counter.

"I want to help you fight, Mom."

* * *

Just like every night for the last week, Kyle Hobbes searched the abandoned warehouse from roof to basement. He knew he could just review what the security cameras had captured, and he would, but he had thoughts to sort out now. His time with the Fifth Column might rapidly be coming to a close but at least he could give them a proper base of operations before he moved on to whatever else was waiting for him.

Dr. Meredith Grayson...he had to hand it to her, she was always a stubborn woman. The last he had known, she was just six months away from completing her residency at the ME's office when the bombing happened. He took a surprising pride in the fact that she completed her training even when she had every excuse to quit but he shouldn't have expected any less than that from her. He shook his head...stubborn woman indeed.

The last place he had to check was the underground parking lot before starting his search for Meredith. As soon as he stepped through the access door into the lot, he noticed the black suburban parked next to his Jeep. Instinct took over and he drew his gun as he traveled through shadows as silently as he could. The windows of the car were blacked out and it was impossible to tell if it was occupied. He crept up to the back door, took a deep breath and pulled it open. A quick sweep of the vehicle showed it was abandoned. Which meant someone was wandering around his hide out. He kicked the door shut with a muttered curse. So much for the safe house.

"Please be careful with the vehicle. It's a rental."

Hobbes swung around and pointed his gun at the clipped, unenthused voice that came from the shadows. He was surprised to see Anna's right hand man emerge from behind a pillar. "Give me one good reason not to put a bullet in your head and leave you here?"

"Just one?" he smirked. "Very well. I need to hire your services and the compensation with be invaluable to you."

Hobbes lowered his gun slightly. "Keep talking."

Marcus held up a case and set it down between them. "You will find a substantial amount of money in the case. Consider that your first payment."

"For what?"

"I need you to infiltrate the Fifth Column."

Hobbes suppressed a smile. Talk about easy money. "What for? So you can wipe them out? Contrary to my reputation, I quite like humanity. And lizards who set me up for shuttle ambushes find their way on my naughty list."

Marcus huffed slightly, the soft sound bouncing off the concrete walls around them. "The set up for the ambush was not personal. I needed an efficient way to contact you. As for infiltrating the Fifth Column, I need them."

"What for?"

"What else?" Marcus' voice became hard, exasperated. "To stop Anna."

So Anna's watchdog was plotting her own downfall. It wasn't the first time Hobbes had seen double dealing and undermining in an organization. But if Marcus was willing to do it to Anna, he very well could do it to the Fifth Column as well. At least with Erica, he knew he could trust her. "What if I say no?"

"I don't believe you will."

"What?" Hobbes laughed, and pushed the case of money with his foot. "Because you hand me a suitcase full of cash? I'm not that easily bought."

"Which is why I brought this." Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. "My insurance policy to ensure your cooperation."

Hobbes snatched the picture from Marcus and immediately lowered the gun. Bloody hell...how did those lizards make the connection so damn quickly?

"Do your job well," Marcus said, "and Meredith will be well taken care of aboard our ship. Double cross me, Mr. Hobbes, and I'll send you on a scavenger hunt across the city for her body parts."


End file.
